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House Manderly
House Manderly of White Harbor is a noble family in the north whose seat is the New Castle in the city of White Harbor. They are among the most powerful and loyal vassals of House Stark as well as the richest northern family due to their control of the only city in the region, as well as the fertile lands, good fishing, and numerous silver mines in the area which in number almost rival the number of gold mines of the Lannisters. Unlike most other Northern houses, the Manderlys follow the Faith of the Seven instead of the old gods, as the family originated in the Reach. The Manderlys' blazon is a white merman with dark green hair, beard and tail, carrying a black trident, over a blue-green field. Initially, the words of House Manderly were “No Currents Mightier” when they were lived near the mighty Mander river, but after being driven out by House Gardener, taken in by House Stark and eventually given White Harbor, they changed their words to “True To Our Word” to reflect their promise of loyalty to the Starks. The Lord of White Harbor, Weiland Manderly, influences all lands and houses east of the mouth of the White Knife, including Houses Ashwood, Locke, Woolfield, and Flint of Widow's Watch. The Manderlys' dominion includes the Sheepshead Hills and the Broken Branch, as well as the allegiance of Ramsgate. History Kingdom of the Reach The Manderlys are an ancient line who once lived along the banks of the mighty river Mander in the Kingdom of the Reach, and some claim the river was named after them.8 A noble house of great lords descended from the First Men, they held the castle of Dunstonbury as their seat and had a fierce rivalry with House Peake.9 During the reign of the Gardener kings in the Reach, King Gwayne III Gardener persuaded Lords Manderly and Peake to accept his judgment on their quarrel and do fealty for their lands, without any bloodshed.10 Near the end of the long reign of King Garth X Gardener, a problem arose with the succession as the elderly and senile Garth had sired no sons and only daughters, one of whom had married Lord Manderly, and another to Lord Peake. Both lords were determined that their own wife should succeed to the throne, and the rivalry between them was marked by betrayal, conspiracy and murder, and finally escalated into open war with other lords joining the cause on both sides. The anarchy that followed lasted almost a decade until Ser Osmund Tyrell, the High Steward of Highgarden, made common cause with the other lords of the Reach and defeated both the Peakes and Manderlys. Ser Osmund then placed a distant cousin of the late Garth X on the throne who ascended as King Mern VI Gardener. Exile and White Harbor According to Lady Rohanne Webber, House Manderly left or were driven away from the Reach about a thousand years ago. Lord Godric Borrell further refines the time period to "no more than nine hundred years ago", claiming the House had overreached itself and been repelled by the "green hands", a reference to the Gardener kings and their sigil. According to Maester Yandel, the exile of House Manderly is credited to Lord Lorimar Peake upon the behest of King Perceon III Gardener, who feared the Manderlys' growing influence and power in the Reach. This allowed House Peake to acquire the Manderlys' seat of Dunstonbury. Wylla Manderly proclaims that the Manderlys, sore and friendless and in peril of their lives, fled north and were protected and welcomed by the Starks of Winterfell as their own bannermen a thousand years before the War of Conquest. The Starks awarded the Wolf's Den to the Manderlys and tasked them with defending the White Knife in return for swearing an oath that they would always be loyal subjects of House Stark. This history instilled the Manderlys with great loyalty to their new liege lords. The city of White Harbor was built by the Manderlys with the wealth they had brought from the Reach and they developed it over the following centuries. It is the smallest of the five cities of Westeros, and is the main northern port for commerce and naval transport. The New Castle, built to replace the aging Wolf's Den, resembles their previous castle Dunstonbury in the Reach. The Manderlys are one of the few great houses of the north to follow the Faith of the Seven instead of the old godsand thus have a strong tradition of knighthood. Targaryen Era House Manderly enjoyed great relations to both their liege lords, the Starks, and their sovereigns, the Targaryens. Princess Viserra Targaryen, the wild and high-spirited daughter of King Jaehaerys I and Good Queen Alysanne, was betrothed to Lord Manderly, but she apparently died by falling from a horse while racing drunkenly through the streets of King's Landing. Lady Jeyne Manderly wed Rickon Stark, eldest son and supposed heir to Lord Cregan Stark and gave him two daughters, Serena and Sansa. Lady Myriame Manderly married Rodwell Stark and became Lady of Winterfell upon her husband's accession. House Manderly supported Rhaenys Targaryen in the Great Council of 101 at Harrenhal. During the Dance of the Dragons, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon traveled to White Harbor and Winterfell and convinced the north to join the blacks. Lord Manderly sent warriors led by his sons, Ser Medrick and Ser Torrhen, to support Rhaenyra Targaryen. Torrhen served as one of the regents of King Aegon III Targaryen after the war, resigning in 132 AC after the deaths of his father and brother from Winter Fever. When Aegon came of age in 136 AC, he ended the regency and dismissed the Hand of the King, Lord Manderly. Category:Houses of the North